Becoming A Team

While retyping my notes that I took from the recent clinic that I attended with Coach Don Meyer there was one segment that stood out to me that would be beneficial in starting a team. It was his four concepts in developing a team.

The first one is SHARED OWNERSHIP. There is a monumental difference in renting a home and buying one, or renting a car and buying one. One takes care of, nurtures, and makes deposits into things they own. One has a tendency to use and abuse things that they rent. The same can be said of the attitude of the players on a team. They must "buy" in, not "rent" in to the program.

The second one is SHARED SUFFERING. If you want to be fit, it requires working out and working out is uncomfortable. If it was comfortable, then the obesity rates in America would drop. Shared suffering is the concept behind basic training in the military. Yes, it is to get people in shape, but it also makes them work together and develop bonds with each other that are still strong when tough times hit (and they inevitably will).

The third is INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY. Players need to be accountable and need to be held accoutable. I love how Coach K writes in his book, "The Gold Standard", that when Jason Kidd joined the team, Kidd made a huge deal out of making sure that everyone on that team was ALWAYS on time. This was out of respect for the coaches and teammates, but it is just the right thing to do. Jim Nantz, in his book "Always By My Side", mentions that in journalism the standard of behavior was that "to be early was to be on time". My friend and Olympic Gold-Medalist sprinter, Mike Marsh, always shares the advice to people he meets that the most important part of being successful is "showing up"...always being relied upon to be there, regardless.

The last is COLLECTIVE PRIDE. This is about being more proud of team success than individual performance. My dad never used to ask me how I played when I was a kid until after he asked how the team did...even in the individual sport of tennis. I would get home and he would say, "Did you guys win?", I would say, "Yep", He would say, "How did everybody do?", and I would share some highlights, and THEN he would say, "How'd you play?", and I would tell him my successes and failures. When I would play great and win my match but the team would lose overall, he would be disappointed. When I would play poorly and the team won he would say, "That's great!". The sweatshirt that he wore to all of my games, matches, and tournaments said, "Hamilton Hawkeyes", it didn't say "Reed Sutton". He was a company man. He worked in the same company for 40 years, through good times and bad and success and failure and parties and funerals, he gave it is all for his company. That's pride.

I am excited about developing our team in each of these four areas. I hope they are ready to meet these challenges face-to-face and conquer them.

Blessings,

Coach

"...whatever you do, do all for the glory of God" (I Cor 10:31 NIV)